The appearance of the first earthworms is a welcome sign of spring, and is often closely tied to the arrival of the first robins. Gardeners, farmers, foresters and soil scientists all love the earthworm because of the good they do for flowers, crops, and plants and animals of the forest. Some scientists estimate that there are approximately 50,000 earthworms per acre of moist soil! The tunnels earthworms make beneath the topsoil do a tremendous service to the trees and plants above. Their burrowing aerates the soil, which is why earthworms are called "nature's plough."

In the process, they not only help bring oxygen down into the soil, but their tunnels allow rainwater carrying organic and inorganic nutrients down deep into the soil where the roots lie. The earthworm has no lungs and takes in oxygen through its moist skin. If it dries out, it will suffocate. Its skin is covered by mucus-secreting cells. The mucus serves not only in respiratory exchange, but it also lubricates the worm's body and eases passage through the burrow. It helps to bind soil particles together and prevents the walls of the burrow from collapsing. With their mixing, digging, burrowing, fertilizing, and humusmaking activities, the worms have an immense impact on the soil, its texture, its fertility, and its ability to support everything that lives in or on it, especially plants that form the basis of our food supply. So next time you see earthworms in your soil, recognize them for all the work they do. And treat them as a friend of the garden!

- Sunita Shastry

Some rules of life come back to haunt us–finish all the food on your plate, a nice tan is healthy, and plant trees as deep as they were in the pot. Bill Vander Weit, forester for the City of Champaign, shared his concerns about trees planted too deep. "Many trees we purchase have the root collar buried in the rootball. If this excess soil is not removed the root collar 'suffocates' from excess soil resulting in a disruption of water and nutrient uptake, starting a downward spiral for the tree."

Vander Weit stated that improper tree planting has become so widespread that one observer termed it a "national epidemic." Researchers at the Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories excavated 363 newly planted trees and found that 93 percent had either excessive soil or mulch covering the root collar (the area where the roots meet the trunk commonly identified by a flaring of the trunk). These trees will probably not survive for more than two years though some will survive in a weakened state for 15 to 20 years until some other stress such as drought kills them.

Why are trees being planted too deep? One explanation is that people do not pay close attention to root location during planting. The problem can be traced back to common nursery practices. When cultivating between rows, nurseries often build up soil around the trunk. When the trees are transplanted the root collar will be buried sometimes as much as six to nine inches.

To ensure your tree is not planted too deep, do not follow the common recommendation of planting the tree at the same soil level that was found in the purchased balled and burlaped tree.

During planting remove the twine around the trunk, peel the burlap back and remove if possible. Snip off wire baskets if necessary. Then gently scrape away excess soil to reveal the root collar. When planted at the proper depth the root collar (trunk flare) should be visible. If the trunk enters the ground as straight as a telephone pole, the tree has been planted too deep.

Other tree planting tips:

• Dig the hole as deep as the root ball and no deeper so the soil under the root ball is undisturbed.
  
• Dig a hole two to three times as wide as the root ball. This will allow roots to grow more easily into this area.
  
• Do not add soil amendments. Old recommendations for adding soil amendments such as peat moss have been discarded. Simply use the soil removed from the hole as backfill.
  
• Prune only broken or dead branches at planting time. Removing live branches removes a source of stored energy important in overcoming planting stress.
  
• Stake trees only when needed as in windy or high traffic areas. Wire even if protected with garden hose can damage the trunk. Use broad-banded materials, check frequently and remove after one year. Wait a year to fertilize unless using a slow release fertilizer. Add three to four inches of mulch such as wood chips. Mulch should not contact the trunk.
  
• Do not wrap trees during the growing season. Wrap can hold moisture next to the trunk and serve as a home for insects.
  
• Don't forget the most important first step–select the proper tree. Avoid the "it's so pretty" impulse purchase. Do your homework. Select a tree with the correct mature height and one that will easily adapt to the soil and planting site.

- Sandra Mason - Uof I Extension

"Green grow the grasses O," or some such Elizabethan ditty; "Oh, to be in England now that April's here." And we could go on and on with the poets and musicians' celebrations of Spring.

Is it just because it's warmer and we can shrug off the bulky, restricting winter clothes or because all around us life is daring to peek out into the changing world and we feel freed to take part in it.

Last year about this time I was bemoaning my front yard of zoysia and fairy rings. I had planted 200 tulip bulbs and hyacinths and they were just blooming on the corners of my brown, scruffy front yard.

I had plans for redoing the whole front, including a curving, brick walk, courtesy of a daughter and son.

Well, a year has passed and I have green grass and the tulips are blooming again. All the perennials I put in last year are alive and well and the squirrels and bunnies have left them alone. I no longer have the best front yard salad buffet in town. My brick walk is edged with a "host of lovely daffodils."

I tried many, many aids to get rid of bunnies and squirrels last summer and they worked to some extent, the "Hot Pepper Wax" best. But this year I've been feeding them in the back yard and as long as their tummies are full they seem to be content with that.

At some point last year one of my sons said, "Your yard looks pretty good now, you have a lot of flowers, I guess you are all set now." And I said something insane like, "mmm."

Hopefully in the next week or so I'll put in a Forsythia and a Pussy Willow on the South side of the front and after Mother's Day transplant some hosta and fill in with pulmonaria and some bleeding hearts in the shadier spots with impatients.

Across the front I can put in a Balloon Flower and a Gerbera Daisy that were gifts at Easter and I've been treating with TLC.

I have a miniature rose bush that I want to try my luck with and some seedlings that look pretty good so far, zinnias, cosmos, and cleome.

As soon as my grandson finishes baseball, I'll do some indoor painting and then the summer is mine to fritter away weeding, dividing, dead-heading and generally indulging in garden games.

- Terry Finan

Apply first fertilization of your lawn around May 10.

Prune spring flowering shrubs such as forsythia and lilac after bloom.

Plant tubers of caladiums, cannas, dahlias,and tuberoses. Set stakes at time of planting for tall dahlias.

Make first planting of glads; plant corms every 7-10 days. As soon as the first glad emerges, apply stakes to support.

Make sure that the peonies you have that often "flop" in the rain have a peony ring for support. The old Festiva Maxima white peony is one such candidate.

Baby's breath should have a support placed around it as it emerges.

The first few weeks of May is still a time to divided perennials. Amend area with compost.

Sow green beans and plant tomato and pepper plants.

Cut back Butterfly bush and Caryopteris when new growth shows. Also lavender can be trimmed after new growth is evident.

Watch for green caterpillars (sawfly larvae) eating pineneedles. Spray.

As pines are candling, pinch candles to 1/2 length to restrict size and to create fuller, bushier branches.

As perennials are vigorously growing, apply 10-10-10.This should be sufficient fertilization for them for the season.

All annuals should be set out this month. Water in soil until well soaked. Then allow plants to almost wilt before you water again.

After you have planted new shrubs, water them every other day for three weeks.

Apply herbicide to eliminate broad leaf weeds. For Creeping Charlie or violets, call a lawn service as the stronger herbicides they use are not available to the consumer.

Harvest asparagus and rhubarb; remove flower stalks of rhubarb as they develop.

- Nancy Crawford